"Celebrates a bold era when voyaging beyond the Earth was deemed crucial to national security and pride." -The Wall Street Journal Restoring the drama, majesty, and sheer improbability of an American triumph, this is award-winning historian Craig Nelson's definitive and thrilling story of man's first trip to the moon. At 9:32 a.m. on July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 rocket launched in the presence of more than a million spectators who had gathered to witness a truly historic event. Through interviews, 23,000 pages of NASA oral histories, and declassified CIA documents on the space race, Rocket Men presents a vivid narrative of the moon mission, taking readers on the journey to one of the last frontiers of the human imagination.
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"Absolutely terrific. Revolving around the July 20 1969 moonwalk, but also includes the history of all that came before the moonwalk--all that went into the achievement--and also what happened to the astronauts and their families following the moonwalk. The details of the trip are still fascinating....the discomforts they endured, the incredible hours they spent on the moon, the engineering genius and a few flaws, the profoundly TENUOUS aspects ......so many many things could have gone wrong, fatally so, but somehow didn't. It's so great to read about this 40 years on.....he brings it to life and makes it all relevant."
— Jean (4 out of 5 stars)
" Oh, heck. I love space travel. This book is for the Apollo junkie. Thus: I loved it. "
— Sarah, 2/16/2014" I thought this was going to be a book about Elton John's lovers but instead turned out to be an exciting and informative history of Apollo 11 and the space race in general. I wasn't crazy about the 3 part structure of this book, specifically how the middle section was sequenced, but I still thought the book as a whole was fantastic. "
— Brad, 2/9/2014" A good overview of the Apollo program. "
— Bill, 2/6/2014" An excellent behind the scenes look at the space race up to Apollo 11. The author details the determination of the scientists, engineers and astronauts who made this happen, telling their stories. Looking at the failures as well as successes, this book shows that it wasn't all glamour.[return][return]Well worth a read. I read this just after the closing of the Space Shuttle programme...I think the world needs more characters like these. "
— Paul, 1/22/2014" This is a rich history of the space program, very well written and researched. Some of the 'inside' information about the early space flights and man's walk on the moon made me realize how much luck was involved. "
— Debbie, 1/12/2014" Insight into how little we actually knew when urged by Kennedy to 'put a man on the moon by the end of the decade and bring him back safely.' "
— Robert, 1/9/2014" A well written history of the people and events that culminated in the Apollo 11 moon landing. The before and after story shows how an amazing achievement came from the fortuitous anomalies of history and the dedicated hard work of thousands of people. "
— Gregory, 12/23/2013" Comprehensive looks at they politics, engineering and human grit behind the space-race from an American point of view. "
— Ron, 12/11/2013" I love the whole history of how we developed the technology to get ourselves to the moon. It's amazing to read about how many mistakes we made and that we still had some men who were willing to get in and try it!! WOW! I'm 3/4 of the way finished and loving this book. "
— Patricia, 12/7/2013" A very nice overview of NASA and the first moon flight. The book was well paced and had a good mix of information and ancedotes that kept the story moving along well. "
— Vivian, 11/23/2013" A good retelling of Apollo 11 and the events leading to it. There were a great couple of pages on the astronauts kids impressions of what was going on. The final chapter on the lack of space exploration since the early 70's seemed out of place to the main story, and overly long. Worth reading. "
— Richard, 4/13/2013" A thorough retelling of Apollo 11's mission to the moon, and everything about the space program leading up to it and since. "
— Mr.B, 2/28/2013" This is a fantastic book. This book is well written. Details of the NASA programs are great. Anyone instersted in the space race should read this "
— Daniel, 12/19/2012" Loved it. Only book I've read twice in the same year. "
— David, 6/3/2012" This book is for anyone who's interested in the Mercury - Gemini - Apollo space program that culminated in the 1969 manned moon landing. You know who you are. Get this book and read it. Better than all the other "I was there" books, except possibly the ones by Gene Kranz and Deke Slayton. "
— William, 10/15/2011" Interesting, though a little slow until you get to the part where they are actually on their way to the moon. Not super technical, but enough that it isn't "casual" reading. Took me a while to finish, but I'm glad I did. "
— Matt, 10/12/2011" This was so good! Having not lived through this time myself, I think my generation takes it for granted that we "won" the space race and landed on the moon. And no one questions why we haven't been back. Well, this book made me ask. "
— Elaine, 7/26/2011" Absolutely fascinating and inspiring. I could not put this book down. "
— Janice, 7/20/2011" I love primary source research, especially on a subject that I know a little bit about, and Rocket Men is chock full. A highly compelling read that makes the achievement of the moon landing so much more remarkable in light of the political and bureaucratic obstacles in its path. "
— Lynn, 6/7/2011" If you enjoy the space program, you will love this book! "
— Scott, 6/3/2011" Interesting account of the space race up to Apollo 11. It taught me what a product of the times the moon landings were. The book does not do a good job of setting out the chronology clearly, and it strangely zooms in on some events and skims over others. Still, a worthwhile read. "
— Greg, 5/21/2011" About as accessible an account of the Space Race as you can find. I've now read this twice. "
— Laird, 3/18/2011" An incredible book, a great discussion of the run up and completion of the Apollo program. I thought this brought a great perspective to the moon landing effort, equipment, men and politics. Some interesting conversation at the end of the book about the direction of the space program post Apollo. "
— Chris, 2/11/2011" Interesting, though a little slow until you get to the part where they are actually on their way to the moon. Not super technical, but enough that it isn't "casual" reading. Took me a while to finish, but I'm glad I did. "
— Matt, 1/10/2011" Oh, heck. I love space travel. This book is for the Apollo junkie. Thus: I loved it. "
— Sarah, 11/1/2010" A thorough retelling of Apollo 11's mission to the moon, and everything about the space program leading up to it and since. "
— Mr.B, 10/2/2010" Comprehensive looks at they politics, engineering and human grit behind the space-race from an American point of view. <br/> <br/> "
— Ron, 9/23/2010" A tough read at first. Very dense, and with some rather bad writing and organization. It definitely got better about half-way through, and offers some very interesting questions about what happened to our national desire to be first in space. "
— Nick, 9/11/2010" Nelson's telling of the history of the Apollo program (primarily Apollo 11) is fascinating. It's not really chronological in nature and does tend to bun e around but it is very interesting reading. "
— Linda, 8/15/2010Craig Nelson is the author of three previous books. His writings have appeared in Salon, Blender, Genre, and a host of other publications. He was an editor at HarperCollins, Hyperion, and Random House for almost twenty years. He lives in New York City.
Richard McGonagle is an Earphones Award–winning narrator and an experienced film, television, and voice-over actor. He has appeared in such films as Rules of Engagement and such television shows as The Practice and JAG.